


Practical Cats

by Geonn



Category: Batman (Movies - Nolan), Dark Knight Rises (2012)
Genre: Angst, Established Relationship, F/F, Missing Scene, Romance, Sad, Winter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-07-23
Updated: 2012-07-23
Packaged: 2017-11-10 12:45:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 616
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/466433
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Geonn/pseuds/Geonn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Selina and Holly struggle to land on their feet.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Practical Cats

Selina curled in the bench of her window, arms extended between bent knees, bare toes curled against the cold. Even if people had the money to pay their bills there weren't any places to pay the bills. And there was no infrastructure in place to make sure the power actually got to the people paying for it. She rested her head against the glass and exhaled so that her breath made a fan of ice crystals next to her cheek. She closed her eyes and tried to relax. Since escaping, she'd done what she could to keep herself and Holly ahead of Bane's goons and the effect was taking its toll. She wasn't having fun anymore. 

_My fault. All of this. My fault._

Something brushed her cheek and she recoiled, bumping her head against the glass and then the wall. She grabbed the wrist, pushed it away from her, and tried to catch her breath as she focused on the room. She'd fallen asleep. Sloppy. And... shit. Holly. She released her breath, relaxed her grip, and brought Holly's hand up to kiss the inside of her wrist. 

"Sorry."

"It's okay. We're all jumpy these days." 

Selina saw what Holly had touched her with. "A rose? Where did you get this?"

"A very pale lady in the park. She's keeping the trees alive to create a haven for her friends. I don't know how she's doing it. Some kind of botany expert." She sat on the floor in front of Selina's bench, holding the rose between the fingers of both hands. She brought the petals to her face and inhaled. Selina smiled and dropped her hand to thread Holly's hair through her fingers. "I thought you might like it. You like pretty things and, well. There's not a lot of those left."

"There's at least one," Selina whispered. Holly lifted her head and burrowed her head against Selina's palm, like a cat being petted. Selina's lips curled into a smile and she purred. "My pretty kitten." She twisted and curled her knees to her chest, kissed the top of Holly's head, and looked past her at the doorway. She focused on nothing but what the door symbolized. It was freedom, and escape. She put everything on the line to find Clean Slate, to give Holly a chance to be more than Just a Criminal. She wanted to give Holly a better chance than she'd been given. Her plans had changed along with everyone else's the day Batman went away. 

_My fault,_ she thought again.

Now they had to be practical. They had to adjust, land on their feet. They couldn't change the city, so they had to change how they existed in it. And, first chance she got, she was going to get Holly as far away from this hellhole as possible. She traced the upper shell of Holly's ear and rested her cheek on her upper arm. It felt extremely warm after being pressed against the window.

"We should move tomorrow."

Holly nodded. "Okay."

That was settled. One day was as far ahead as she dared to plan. Less chance of disappointment that way. She stretched her feet out and sat up, pulling Holly to her. "Let's go to bed."

"It's still light out."

"I'm cold. Freezing, in fact. I just want to be warm."

Holly smiled. "I think I can help with that."

Selina took the rose, an impossible thing in this deep freeze. But if a rose could grow in winter, in such a deadly environment, then maybe other impossible things just needed a push. She tucked the rose behind Holly's ear, smiled, and took Holly's hand to lead her to their latest bedroom.


End file.
